Australian research claims dementia not necessarily inevitable

Australian research published this week in the prestigious British
Journal of Psychiatry has changed traditional understanding of dementia, according to a supporting editorial in the journal.

The research challenges the view of dementia as an inevitably
progressive neurodegenerative disease, and suggests a more pro-active and optimistic approach to the management of cognitive impairment and dementia.

“In questioning the traditional wisdom that adult brain cells once
damaged or lost can never be replaced, emerging evidence challenges the clinical pessimism often associated with dementia and points to a
variety of ways of improving impairment and reducing risk of further
deterioration,” said the paper’s lead author Dr David Burke, a
psychogeriatrician at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.

Incorporating research findings from the Brain & Mind Research
Institute, The Black Dog Institute and various international studies,
the paper highlights recent evidence that healthy brains, ageing brains
and impaired brains have a remarkable capacity to generate new brain
cells (neurogenesis) and new connections (neural plasticity).

Researchers have shown that a variety of proactive measures can be
adopted relating to diet, physical activity, cognitive activity, genes,
psychological functioning and social functioning to combat these
vascular risk factors and thereby treat or prevent acquired cognitive
impairment and dementia.